Stanford's stamp seen all over island of Antigua

Stanford's stamp seen all over Antigua

By Dane Schiller |
February 19, 2009

Sir R. Allen Stanford celebrates last year after the Stanford Superstars met England in the Stanford 20/20 Super Series at the Stanford Cricket Ground in St. John’s. Stanford won.

Photo By JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

Scant activity was evident this week at Stanford International Bank headquarters in St. John’s after U.S. regulators accused Texan Sir R. Allen Stanford of fraud and froze his assets.

Photo By Andres Leighton/AP

Crowds gathered early Wednesday at the Bank of Antigua’s St. John’s branch, but by Thursday the lines of customers diminished well before the lunch hour.

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua — There are no statues of embattled Texas billionaire R. Allen Stanford on this sunny, windy Caribbean island, but there are countless testaments to his prosperity and influence.

The Stanford name is synonymous with big money.

He has an aviation company, a publishing company, an international bank, an athletic club, a top-notch restaurant, a world-class cricket field, and is the largest private employer, second only to the government.

And many Antiguans say that Stanford — whom they call Sir Allen because the nation knighted him in 2006 — has done so much for their country that they’re standing by him as a massive U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission civil fraud case swirls around him.

“In America, I’m afraid his goose is cooked, but we will always respect him here for what he brought to the country,” said a merchant who asked not to be named discussing a man who casts such a huge shadow.

“I will tell you, what he has done for this country is remarkable — legal or illegal — and nobody can dispute that,” he continued.

Stanford is not charged with a crime, but his empire as well as his legacy have drawn renewed public attention since the SEC filed its suit and took over the Houston headquarters of Stanford Financial Group — his privately held network of banks and financial service companies.

On Thursday, FBI agents, acting at the request of the SEC, served Stanford with documents relating to the civil case. He had been out of public sight for several days until the agents found him in Fredericksburg, Va.

‘Together in solidarity’

Caribbean regulators today took control of an Antiguan bank owned by Stanford to prevent its collapse as depositors rushed to pull their money after American financier was accused of fraud.

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the monetary authority for eight island economies in the region, said the Bank of Antigua’s board of directors requested the intervention because of the “untenable situation” at its three branches in the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda.

“There has been an unusual and substantial withdrawals of funds by depositors from the bank precipitated by recently published statements regarding the chairman of the board of directors of the bank, which has the potential to create severe liquidity problems for the bank,” Central Bank Governor Dwight Venner said.

The governor did not disclose how much money had been pulled from the bank since Tuesday, when U.S. authorities announced civil fraud charges against Stanford. Authorities have been urging depositors not to panic, fearing a bank failure could disrupt the local economy.

“If there was ever a reason for the Antiguan and Barbudan people to pull together in solidarity, that time is now,” said Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer.

Previously, an open letter from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank urged people not to act with haste.

“The (Central Bank) says everything is good,” said baker Uroy Martin, a self-described Rasta-man who conceded Thursday that instead of worrying, he was going to keep with an island tradition by heading to the park to smoke a bit of marijuana and sip some Jamaican rum.

Shema Matthews, who runs a downtown boutique, said people would do well to make Stanford feel at home should he visit Antigua.

“If they crucify him, he’ll just go to another island — a lot of people would want his investments,” she said. “He has been good to us; we will stick with him.”